Obama's marijuana comment wasn't smart

10:35 AM,
Feb. 6, 2014

Written by

Alex Berezow

The apparent heroin overdose death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who first used drugs decades ago, is a reminder of just how difficult it is to get a handle on drug abuse and the youth culture that enables it. One reason for the surge in heroin use over the past five years is a crackdown on the abuse of prescription opiate painkillers. Addicts might simply be substituting one drug for a related one.

That blowback is an important reason why we should be careful about drug policy and even what top officials say about it. Perhaps that can best be explained using another of the three traditional ...